The entire cake shop, with its sweets and pastries, was wiped clean, leaving nothing behind.
As if to confirm something, Rao Beichen took his crossbow to the back kitchen.
Seeing the thoroughly ransacked kitchen, his suspicion was further solidified.
Unwilling to give up, Rao Beichen went to the backyard.
The moment he appeared in the backyard, he was met with a pungent, mixed odor.
The smell was acrid and overwhelming, his eyes instantly watering.
Looking at the burning zombie corpses in the yard, Rao Beichen’s attention was drawn to other things.
The swept-clean vegetables and fruits, and the deep pit left by the uprooted fruit trees that were now gone.
All these signs told Rao Beichen what had happened before his arrival.
The image of Su Ling's cold and stunning face flashed in his mind, and Rao Beichen narrowed his eyes slightly.
He opened his palm, and soon a white crystal core lay quietly in his hand.
In the next second, the crystal core in his palm vanished into thin air.
It was a shame Su Ling wasn't there to witness this.
Otherwise, even she would have been a little surprised.
As someone who had experienced it, she would surely know that Rao Beichen, like her, possessed a space for storing supplies.
However, what Rao Beichen's storage space looked like was unknown.
Rao Beichen made a sweep of the area and left the cake shop with nothing.
He did not retrace his steps but instead chose to follow the direction in which Su Ling and Gu Shangse had departed.
To prevent Su Ling and Gu Shangse from discovering they were being followed, Rao Beichen kept his pace slow. He made sure to sweep through the shops on both sides of the street, stuffing anything that Rao Can liked into his bag.
While fighting zombies, he had split open their heads.
Initially, he had found nothing.
Later, when he split open another zombie's head and a transparent crystal core rolled out onto the ground, he finally understood what Su Ling and Gu Shangse were looking for when they dug into zombie heads.
This discovery was, by far, the biggest gain for Rao Beichen that day.
Because of this discovery, Rao Beichen for the first time considered teaming up with Su Ling and Gu Shangse.
He didn't know Su Ling, but he knew Gu Shangse.
Rao Beichen was well aware of Gu Shangse's character and trusted him completely, without any doubt.
Since Gu Shangse had chosen Su Ling, it meant that her character and disposition were also good.
Most importantly, the two of them were skilled fighters and would absolutely not be a burden.
At the same time, Rao Beichen also knew that these two were the survivors mentioned by Rao Can.
After all, the combination of two people and a dog was too easy to identify.
Looking at the department store, which stood out prominently among the surrounding buildings, Rao Beichen did not continue to follow Su Ling and Gu Shangse. He had already determined their final destination, so there was no need to keep following.
His outing was originally for the purpose of searching for supplies.
But now, with his new discovery, he was no longer in a hurry to search for supplies.
He should go back and discuss with Can Can about leaving their current residence, going to the department store, and teaming up with Gu Shangse.
With the plan in mind, Rao Beichen, with his bulging bag, retraced his steps towards their dwelling.
Meanwhile, at the department store.
After Su Ling and Gu Shangse left, they had not returned by lunchtime. Xu Lin and the other two, knowing of their combat prowess, were not overly worried.
They had killed zombies and practiced their powers all morning, and now their bodies ached, they were covered in sweat, and they were both tired and hungry.
Dinner was already cooking, and the aroma of rice wafted from the rooftop, making their stomachs rumble.
Despite their hunger, their hands did not stop.
Someone was washing vegetables, someone was stir-frying, and someone was setting out bowls and chopsticks. In just a short time, they had developed a tacit understanding.